Mark Thompson has raised the issue that he was 'disturbed' by the high number of employees who had attended Oxbridge colleges

Before his rise to become director-general of the BBC, Mark Thompson enjoyed a privileged education at a leading private school and Oxford.

Now, as he bows out of his £700,000 post after eight years, he has privately revealed his concerns that the Corporation is employing too many staff from elite universities.

In a confidential meeting, Mr Thompson said he was ‘disturbed’ by the high number of employees who had attended Oxbridge colleges.

According to an MP who was at the
meeting, Mr Thompson, who took a first in English at Merton College,
said BBC bosses had discussed the academic background of their staff as
part of a wider review into the ‘diversity’ of its employees, including
their age and gender.

He said the broadcaster is determined to ensure that a wider range of applicants for jobs are interviewed.

Mr Thompson’s plans were outlined in a meeting last month with BBC executives and Conservative MP Nadine Dorries.

Ms Dorries, MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, said: ‘Mark Thompson said they feel they need to do more to take people from diverse backgrounds, but I said they should be looking at getting the best talent no matter where it comes from. The BBC should be hiring on merit, not discriminating against success.’

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Former BBC newsreader Peter Sissons said: ‘Any organisation that doesn’t advance the very best people – regardless of where they were educated – is progressively weakening itself. Discriminating against Oxbridge graduates would be another example of the BBC’s deep-rooted political correctness.’

Many of the Corporation's biggest names, including Jeremy Paxman and Fiona Bruce, studied at Oxford or Cambridge

Many BBC big names studied at Oxford or Cambridge, including Jeremy Paxman and Fiona Bruce, and Mr Thompson’s comments follows controversy over attempts by BBC managers to shed what they perceive as the Corporation’s white, middle- class image.

Last week, Zoe Wanamaker, star of the popular BBC comedy My Family, revealed that the show was being axed because it was ‘too middle-class’.

A BBC spokesman said there were no plans to introduce quotas ‘to recruit from certain parts of society’.